iPod Creators Reinvent The Thermostat

Two people responsible for creating Apple’s iconic iPod, longtime senior vice president Tony Fadell and lead software engineer Matt Rogers co-founded Nest Labs. The startup came out of stealth mode to unveil the Nest Learning Thermostat, a device incorporating the stylish, user-friendly approach of the iPod into a programmable thermostat. Apart from its sleek appearance and digital display, the Nest thermostat boasts an impressive motion sensor that remembers your typical schedule (after a week or less of use) and creates a system to meet your energy needs, saving energy lost through manual adjustment. If you tend to leave the house around 7 a.m., and return around 6 p.m, the Nest learns this and adjusts its temperature accordingly.

If multiple Nest units are installed in your home, they will communicate via wifi to coordinate schedules for different area of the house. It also measures ambient light, humidity, and motion, and uses all that data to fine-tune its program with the end goal to make heating much more intuitive.